AN        900712-0151.
HL           Maybe Some Clever Competitor
             Will Award Golden Parachutes
             ----
             By Bridget O'Brian
             Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
DD        07/12/90
SO        WALL STREET JOURNAL (J), PAGE B1
CO           CTA
IN        AIRLINES (AIR)
       *  BANKRUPTCIES (BCY)
TX           There's just no pleasing some people; ask Eastern
          Airlines.
             Its promotion promising 100% refunds to dissatisfied
          full-fare passengers has spawned some creative complaining.
             Take, for instance, one passenger's displeasure with the
          texture of his morning croissant, or the gripe another had
          that his ice cream was too soft. Or the angst of a third: "I
          felt ignored." All three traumas netted refunds.
             The carrier started offering the no-questions-asked
          guarantee to woo back business travelers who abandoned
          Eastern in droves because of a bruising strike and highly
          public bankruptcy-court proceedings. The guarantee applies
          only to unrestricted, undiscounted tickets -- the kind bought
          most often by business people.
             The program had been set to expire last month, but Eastern
          extended it through Sept. 30. That means the carrier will
          probably be getting more complaints like these that have come
          in written requests for refunds: "I don't like pizza in first
          class," and "The flight attendant didn't offer to take my
          coat until I mentioned it." Eastern gave those passengers
          their money back, too.
             As of the original June 30 cutoff, Eastern had refunded
          $43,425 to 126 people, most of whom registered the kinds of
          complaints that usually inspire letters to airlines -- lost
          luggage, late arrivals and the like. But an Atlanta passenger
          wanted her money back because her only newspaper choice was
          The Wall Street Journal. "We didn't turn down any requests,"
          says a spokesman.
             Eastern counts the promotion as a huge success. "When you
          think in terms of the traffic the offer may have generated,"
          the refunds were worth it, the spokesman says. While he isn't
          specific about how much business the guarantee brought in, he
          does say Eastern has flown tens of thousands of passengers
          since the program began May 7, but not all were full-fare
          fliers.
             Airlines often mimic promotions started by competitors;
          this one, however, isn't exactly spreading like wildfire. Pan
          Am guaranteed its first-class service for a while on select
          flights earlier this year. And the Trump Shuttle gave out
          department-store gift certificates to passengers whose
          flights didn't arrive on time, but stopped after
          air-traffic-control problems and bad weather made too many
          flights tardy. Now it gives frequent-flier miles.

